Into the Depths of Eden
by Cuddly Cat
Summary: During the Forbidden Scroll Incident Naruto goes into the forest... and never comes back. What will Naruto do when presented with a perfect world? As Naruto questions reality itself, lost in a land where all his dreams come true, will he fall to temptation? Psychological Plot, Powerful Sage Naruto, Smart Naruto, Naruto/Small Harem
1. Chapter 1

**Into the depths of Eden**

**Warning: **_This chapter and subsequent story is to be rated T for language usage (cursing) and violence. _

_If I ever incorporate gore or future lemons to the story later on, it will be bumped up to an M rating. Lemons will most likely be given their own separate story in order to not hinder the viewing pleasure of others, or I will give fair warning to their inclusion in a chapter and of the rating change. The romance and subsequent relationships though will still remain in the story…_

**Official Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Naruto, Animal Crossing, The Cat Returns or any other referenced or related works in that may appear in this story, those belong to their respective owners. If there ever is an OC inclusion in this or any of my stories, the resemblance of a name and/or physical appearance to anyone living or deceased is completely coincidental. What I do own is the story concept, story board, the story itself, and any OC's I do create._

_This story is not a full blown The Cat Returns crossover however, it only incorporates elements of it. I shall likely make a crossover of that nature in the future though. This story is mainly a Naruto x Animal Crossing crossover._

_The rights of any pictures or art I will ever use go to their respective owners, if said artist would like the picture removed from my profile, for that is where it will most likely be, please say so instead of jumping to conclusions of infringement._

* * *

**Chapter I**

* * *

**The Forest of the Lost**

**~o~**

Naruto was currently fleeing from the Hokage Tower with a large scroll on his back. This being none other than the Forbidden Scroll.

He had been informed upon his most recent failure of the graduation exam of an alternate test he could take in order to become a shinobi, and being as desperate as he was he immediately jumped on it. He had failed his last attempt at taking the exam after all so if this did not work out he would remain a civilian and with most of the villagers distaste for him he would likely never be able to get a job or anything. He would be stuck mooching off his Jiji until he was of age, whilst struggling to get a job. None of his dreams would ever come true; he would never be a great ninja, he would never be Hokage, and he would never make his Jiji proud.

He wouldn't let it all end like this, he couldn't. He couldn't let so many years of effort go wasted like that.

So when he heard of this final opportunity he was ecstatic, it was understandable, after all the sole reason he failed was only because he was incapable of performing a single elementary ninja technique. It wasn't even his fault either he had been attempting it for years. He just didn't seem to be capable of performing it for some reason.

He also remembered that last semester there had been a kid that could not use chakra that graduated anyways even whilst being unable to perform even the most basic of elementary level ninjutsu techniques. Which meant that there had to be some alternative to the normal testing system for those that felt that the tests did not accurately represent their skill-set.

So using this logic he had gone forth with the test propositioned by Mizuki-Sensei. To steal the Forbidden Scroll of Konoha from the Hokage's office.

Now it had not been an easy task and he had almost gotten caught on several occasions, but he had managed to get the scroll…

…and knocked Sarutobi out in the process as well.

It was an accident though, he was just surprised at Sarutobi's sudden appearance and reacted accordingly to the abrupt arrival of a pervert in his general proximity. This being done by utilizing his most dangerous technique of all to incapacitate one of the most powerful ninja in the world in one move.

_**Orioke no Jutsu**_, a self-stylized kinjutsu that could incapacitate even the most powerful male shinobi as long as they contained even a modicum of lust in their being. It's technical process and development was actually incredibly complex, and was one of the most elaborate henges in existence. Its execution did several things, amongst which it activated the targets hormones and indirectly attacked the targets neural processors to cause a mental overload at the sight of his henge. His henge usually took the form of a woman to most but in reality it was mostly a large energy construct of differing wavelengths continually sending foreign chakra towards any that gazed upon it. The energy wavelengths released though were gender specific which at this time he only had it to the point it worked on males that were of a weak mental fortitude when it came to things pertaining to lust and females. In other words perverts. (Naruto's scientific reasoning to the perversion of the Orioke no Jutsu)

He had vacated the area of the crime scene as quickly as possible afterwards, but not before leaving a note explaining the details of the test to Sarutobi whilst apologizing for knocking him unconscious in the infiltration mission and begging him not to count the encounter in the final score for the test. He placing said note on top of an unconscious Sarutobi, who was currently experiencing a profuse nose-bleed while wearing a perverted grin on his face.

Naruto was now heading to a clearing inside a nearby wood where he was going to train for the next two to three hours until he was to be tested, the location having been detailed to him by Mizuki.

He quickly proceeding to the location whilst tree hopping. However while jumping onto one of the branches Naruto overshot it slightly as he slipped off it and fell backwards off the branch, the large scroll on his back having thrown of his balance slightly and caused him to fall. He outstretching his arm uselessly as he attempted to grab the branch as he fell, before he hit the back of his head and everything went black.

* * *

**~Nya~**

_An indeterminate amount of time later_

Naruto turned on his side as he groaned in an attempt to shield himself from the sunlight that was breaching the canopy of the wood, it resolute in its seemingly sole purpose of infuriating him. Suddenly his eyes snapped open as they widened in growing apprehension when he noticed a couple of things that were off. It was just night a while ago, he was sleeping on the ground, and there was a large scroll lying across from him.

'The test!' he thought in horror as he bolted upright, the action immediately making him flinch in pain as he grimaced and reached a hand to the back his head. He pulled it away and found slight traces of blood of it, nothing too major, but enough for him to know that he had in fact hit his head and was bleeding a bit.

After making sure he wasn't going to die from it he began to collect his bearings as much as possible.

'Okay I am in the middle of the woods alone, lost. Not the most favorable of circumstances that's for sure.' He thought to himself as he looked around not remembering where he actually was in the forest.

He looked at the surrounding trees, damn they were tall.

"Well at least I didn't crack my head open or snap my neck when I fell, that's a plus." Naruto said cynically, he wasn't feeling in the best of moods all things considered.

It was daytime which meant he had likely missed the time limit for the test and failed, so now his shinobi career was truly pretty much over. He had gotten this godsend of a second chance and he had somehow managed to screw this up too. Truly all he had gotten from this was a headache and most likely a concussion if that ringing sound he was hearing was any indication.

Suddenly Naruto leaned forward and started gagging a few times as a wave of nausea overcame him prompting him to clutch his stomach.

After a few minutes of breathing in and out he managed to calm himself down slightly and soothed his nausea by a small margin as well. He taking the opportunity to once more tie the large scroll to his back.

"I-I have to get back to the village, talk to Jiji. Hell I at least got the scroll that has to count for something right?" he said to himself weakly as he steadily got up before almost falling down again as everything span around him as a wave of dizziness hit him at the sudden action.

"Damn, forget Jiji I need to get to a hospital" he said as he walked with great show of force towards the vague direction he remembered Konoha being at. He taking it slow as he felt as if he was on the verge of passing out as it was, plus with things spinning as they were it was a struggle in itself just to remain upright.

Cautiously he continued walking forwards as he leaned against trees and felt around blindly for them as from his perspective the trees were moving and he would see several for each one that was actually there.

After walking for around five minutes or so with minimal progress he was forced to lean heavily against a tree as he started gagging slightly before he emptied his stomach on the spot. He vomiting until there was nothing left to throw up and continuing to dry heave afterwards. After a few more minutes of calming himself down a bit he continued on his way to where he thought the village to be. Questions running through his mind as he did so.

Why hadn't no one gone to look for him if he went missing in the middle of a test? Would he still be able to pass the test as it was? Would this damn headache ever go away!?

Naruto attempted to lean on a tree only for him to be tricked by his double vision causing him to fall to the ground on his side.

'Damn it, I can't even tell which way is up and down anymore' thought Naruto as the world span around him, he closing his eyes to stem off the upcoming nausea.

However when he opened his eyes again he was quite surprised at the sudden shift in perspective, the world had stopped spinning for one and now he didn't feel like throwing up. However what really caught his attention was the Tanuki (Raccoon Dog) mere inches from his face looking at him curiously. It was standing on its back legs and it had a single green leaf upon its head.

Naruto immediately freaked out thinking that maybe the creature had thought him to be dead and was going to scavenge his remains, that or it was waiting for him to do die to do so. This prompting a suitable reaction from Naruto, he screamed before backpedaling away from the creature.

"I am not dead!" he shouted at the little creature defiantly, it only tilting its head in confusion at him in response.

'Wait, do tanuki even eat meat? Plus if it was hungry why didn't it try to bite my face off while it had the chance?' he thought to himself as he looked at the little rodent with narrowed eyes.

His thoughts soon shifted to a more pressing concern, why exactly did he feel so much better all of a sudden? He didn't know how concussions or head injuries worked, but he doubted they could heal that fast.

He reached his hand to the back of his head once more and pulled it away to find it devoid of blood. The injury that was there moments previous apparently gone. He could only stare at his hand dumbly at the development for a few seconds. Things were just getting weirder and weirder.

He looked back at the tanuki who was still looking at him curiously and stared back at it thoughtfully for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"I can't think too much on this, I need to get back to village and talk with Jiji." He voiced aloud as he got up from his seated position and dusted off his clothes, before looking at the tanuki once more.

"Well I don't know if you had anything to do with the pain going away, but I am grateful for you not biting off my face" he said to the small rodent who only tilted its head once more at him in response

He sweatdropped at that, well he really should not have expected more of a reaction anyways, I mean it was just a tanuki.

"I'm talking to animals, I must have hit my head harder than I thought and knocked a few screws loose if I think they are going to talk back" he said aloud to himself as he started walking off in the direction where he thought the village was.

He missing as the tanuki broke out into a large unnatural grin that looked like it was going to tear its face apart. This mere moments before a sudden wind swept through the area lifting a large amount of leaves in the process, the tanuki disappearing along with the gust of wind, a lone leaf gently drifting down to the spot it stood seconds prior.

Naruto was navigating through the woods as best as he could, he had forgone tree hopping as first of all he wanted to avoid an incident similar to the one prior and secondly he was not sure exactly of where he was. From what he remembered he presumed he was going the right way, however he had this nagging feeling in the back of his head that these woods felt…different somehow to the one's he had been navigating through last night.

'There's something wrong here' thought Naruto as he looked around nervously

These woods, why were they so quiet? Beyond that Tanuki there seemed to be no other animals here, the forest itself seemed entirely devoid of life. The only thing there was were the trees, each one feeling like it was scrutinizing him, judging him as he walked past them. Each tree suddenly seemed to command a sense of respect greater than even the hokage himself had held when around Naruto. It was unnatural.

Naruto felt a state of unease greater than any he had ever felt before, even when the villagers cast their hurtful glares at him it was nothing compared to what he felt now. This feeling, the feeling as if millions of eyes were currently gazing at him, judging him and every action he performed, it scared him.

Naruto could honestly say without a shadow of a doubt that it was one the most frightening things he had ever experienced, to fear something and not know what it was, it was disturbing on some level.

Naruto's walking soon became a jog, until he broke out into a sprint as he barreled through the forest to get away from that oppressive atmosphere. He did not like the silence, it scared him, he needed to get out of here.

Naruto stopped at a small clearing that he emerged out into, it looked exactly the same as the one he woke up in.

Naruto was freaking out at this point, as he shook his head from side to side in disbelief, this just wasn't possible. He had run straight the whole time!

He looked at the surrounding forestry, to find that it all looked the same, he tried to orient himself using the position of the sun only to find it directly overhead neither leaning to the East or West.

Naruto was starting to hyperventilate. Where was everyone? Where is the village? Shouldn't he have spotted it by now? Naruto suddenly heard a cracking sound making his head snap in the direction it came from. There was the tanuki from earlier sitting on a low branch cracking a small nut with it teeth.

For some reason the familiar sight soothed Naruto a bit as he made his way over to the little rodent. He calming down at its appearance while he thought things through as he leaned against a tree across from it. He shouldn't be freaking out so much, he was just being paranoid, it was just the stress from the test and the head injury that had him off his game, he just needed to relax.

He breathed in and out a few times, before looking once more at the sun. Well it was noon, he just needed to wait an hour or two before he could properly orient itself that was all.

Naruto looked towards the tanuki once more to find it had just finished its meal and was looking at him curiously once more.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the village is would you?" he asked the little rodent rhetorically only to get a tilt of its head once more making him sigh at that.

"I guess not huh? Well it's not like-"

Naruto was cut-off as he heard a muffled sound from the direction of the tanuki and looked to where it had been moments before to find the spot vacant. He looked around a bit and managed to spot it on the other side of the clearing looking at him almost expectantly.

'How did it get over there so fast?' he questioned to himself as he slowly made his way towards it.

When he got to a certain distance the little creature shot of into the woods.

He sighed at that "I must be crazy for doing this" he said under his breath as he shook his head before running after the little critter. The forest swallowing him whole as he ventured inside of its labyrinth of trees.

* * *

**~Meow~**

Naruto had been following the tanuki for a while now, however it was not walking in a straight line like he himself had before, instead its path would twist and turn every once in a while. At one point he had thought that maybe it was simply running away from him, but that thought was discarded the moment he had stopped to catch his breath and it had waited patiently for him to do so. He was getting worried though, from what he could tell they had gone in circles a few times and had even headed straight back towards where they came from quite a few times as well.

The little creature would at times disappear from his sight momentarily making him stop for a few seconds as he looked around for it before he found it perched on a nearby branch looking at him. It was actually slightly unnerving for some reason.

As he continued following the little animal though he started questioning if it even knew where it was taking him, or better yet if it even really understood what he had asked. Just as he was starting to doubt any progress he was making he noticed that the tanuki had disappeared, however he could see that the end of the forest was only a few feet away. He mentally cheered at his good fortune as he walked to the edge of the woods.

However a thought suddenly struck him as he did so, from what he could make out all those twists and turns should have ultimately led him back near the clearing he woke up in. How was it that…

All thought process suddenly halted for Naruto as he reached the end of the woods. As he found himself on a cliff, facing off towards the sea. It stretching as far as he could see into the horizon.

Naruto could only stare dumbly as the waves crashed against the reefs. This wasn't possible, it didn't make any sense for one single reason. Konoha was in the middle of a continent a multitude of days travel from the nearest large body of water.

A single thought going through his mind as he gazed upon the endless expanse of water before him.

Where exactly was he?

One thing was for sure however, he sure wasn't in Konoha anymore.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

_Well that was chapter 1 and we already find Naruto out of Konoha. None of the Animal Crossing elements have truly presented themselves as of yet sadly, hopefully by next chapter we can see some more development on that end. Lot of mystery this chapter as well, lot's of unanswered questions as of yet. (Don't worry this is intentional, it is a mystery after all, things are discovered as you progress along the story line)_

_This chapter is for all purposes a prologue that get's Naruto out of Konoha and into Animal Crossing. This was a necessary transition as you can imagine, because I can promise you that if anthropomorphic people were walking around the Elemental Nations people would be flipping out. This is necessary. Also remember at it's roots Animal Crossing is a veritable slice of life, it's pretty slow paced as well, don't expect any fights to break out any time soon. I mean who would he fight? The villagers?  
_

_If you are expecting a huge amounts of fights from the get-go then I have to tell you are probably reading the wrong story here. This is going to be a story with an intricate and well thought out plot, and tons of meaningful dialogue and interactions that pertains to the series. It is first and foremost Mystery, then Adventure, then probably Romance. The plot is going to be slightly psychological in nature so expect some things that might be considered a bit...off, and question everything._

_If you need a more intricate picture of what Naruto was experiencing as he walked look up details on vertigo. It can help paint a better picture._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter II**

* * *

**Alone**

**~x~**

Naruto had sat down on the edge of the cliff as he looked out into the sea. He always dreamed of one day looking at the sea since he first heard of it in books and stories, of one day venturing beyond the walls of the village and finding this world of water that rested beyond the lands he called home.

It was entrancing. Watching as the waves rose and fell, it was as if he watching the very world breathe in tune with nature. The sea-salt smell drifting across the wind being something of the likes he could have never imagined.

It all granted him such a sense of peace the likes he had never experienced before, in an instant the hyper-active knucklehead that he was hailed as disappeared only to be replaced by a more whimsical and thoughtful person.

'If only everyone could feel this, this sense of tranquility' he mused before a dark thought wormed itself into his heart.

**_They don't deserve this, humans are the cause for this sensation not being experienced by all. Humans create wars, they kill nature, make a mockery of peace, and adulate power._**

**They are monsters**

Naruto quickly shook his head at that, dislodging himself from such a train of thought. What was that? Was that what he really thought?

Numerous thoughts cycled through the mind of the blond haired boy, as he pondered on many things from the life he had led up to this point, to his thoughts and dreams, to the strange situation he found himself in now.

He didn't know how long he spent on that cliff overlooking the sea, but after an indeterminate amount of time he finally broke free of the hypnotizing trance of the waves and stood up, the care-free smile he had once constantly worn on his face gone, a simple memory forgotten in this strange land.

Momentarily he looked from the left to right as he stood up before making his mind up and walking along the edge of the forest overlooking the sea towards the left. He walked slowly, all sense of urgency he had felt moments previous gone, he looking towards the sea thoughtfully as he walked while paying mind to his surroundings as he did so.

After walking for a few minutes he came to the conclusion that most likely he wasn't simply at the coast of the continent, but on an island somewhere as it seemed no matter how far he walked there was simply water as far as the eye could see and it did not seem to tie back into a larger landmass.

So he was on a deserted island in the middle of what was likely the ocean, with no recollection of how he got there or when. A part of him wanted to freak out at that, however a larger part of him actually accepted this new-found information. Suddenly at this knowledge half his worries had just… melted away. He didn't need to worry about the test, the chunnin exams, being a ninja, becoming hokage, or any of the multitude of other things he did or was expected to do. Here it was just him, he could be himself, could do what he wanted without anyone criticizing his every action, no humans whatsoever.

He was simply alone, and as much as that scared him it also brought him such a sense of comfort the likes of which he simply could never have imagined to be possible beforehand.

Walking along the bluff overlooking the ocean as he pondered on the precarious yet intriguing position he found himself in, his thoughts were brought to a halt as he found four small statues barring his path.,

He looked them over curiously as he approached them before stopping mere feet from them as his eyes widened. It was a statue, a statue that looked identical to the tanuki from earlier that had guided him here. He had a family, beside him was a tanuki that was slightly smaller than him, likely his mate, and next to her were two pups.

He felt a sharp pang in his heart at the sight, a family...

...what he would not give to be a part of one. All his dreams, all his desires, he would sacrifice it all for such a simple concept that many took for granted from the very beginning of their lives.

As he gazed at the statue he felt a great sadness descend upon him at the sight, but also a sense of acceptance and happiness. This tanuki did not have a family, he built one. He had a wife and kids, and seemed happy as he gazed into the horizon over the sea.

Maybe he did not have a family now, but one day, maybe one day he could build one.

A smile slowly formed across his face at that, he sitting down next to the small statue as he accompanied it in gazing towards the sea. Before long however his gaze fell upon the tanuki once again before looking around curiously, why had these statues been placed here? Who made them?

They seemed to be the only man-made constructs on the entire island, what purpose did they serve?

Curiously he looked at the statue in the eye for a few seconds before noticing that it seemed to be gazing in a particular direction, following its line of sight he gazed back into the sea in confusion as he attempted to decipher their significance. Maybe someone had placed them there as guardians of the island or to guide travelers, he thought he heard something like that once.

He narrowed his eyes at the horizon as he tried to make out anything in the distance before he saw something shift in the water as his eyes widened. There was something there.

What he had earlier dismissed as a rocky outcropping seemed to be in fact man-made and it was situated in front of a black line that seemed to cut across the water, which his sight had mistakenly presumed as the horizon line or shadows from overhead cloud coverage.

Seeing this he quickly looked around to see if he could spot any way down the bluff to the beach below, he noticing a small path he could take down the cliff side in front of the four statues. However before leaving he noticed that in front of the four tanuki was a small empty bowl, he realizing it was for offerings, feeling inclined to repay the aid provided to him by it he looked around the area until he found a berry bush where he plucked several of them before placing them in the bowl.

He being startled slightly as he found that the male tanuki's eyes seemed to be closed in happiness, when he could distinctly remember that he had used its eyes earlier to find his destination. Deciding not to give the occurrence too much thought he quickly descended down the cliff-face while moving cautiously across the narrow path until he reached the beach.

He now being able to tell from his new vantage point that it seemed to be a box like construct that was in the distance and that it was definitely man-made. Quickly he cast one more glance back towards the four statues on the cliff behind him, only to find all four with their heads inclined downwards as if looking straight at him expectantly, which caused a shiver to travel down his spine at that before he steeled himself.

He quickly pulled a small waterproof scroll he had on his pants leg out and opened it out on the sand before placing the much larger scroll of sealing atop of the simplistic seal array inscribed on the smaller scroll. Naruto then pulsed his chakra through the smaller scroll sealing the much larger scroll inside, he then quickly folding the much smaller scroll before placing it back into the scroll pocket on his pants leg.

He then looked at the sea before him determinedly for a few seconds before taking a few steps back and then sprinting forward before he divided into the water and started to swim utilizing overarm strokes towards the far off man-made construct. He taking in great lungfuls of air at the peak of each stroke, the smell of saltwater something he was unused to as the most practice he had ever had in swimming was in the Academy pool as they taught Academy students how to swim.

Just as he thought he wasn't going to make it he reached his destination as he pulled himself up with slight difficult due to his wet clothes, he being lucky that his jumpsuit and pants were water-proof. He lying on his back for a few seconds as he took in large lungfuls of air, his chest rising and falling with each breathe. He had never swam that far before, it must have been nearly a quarter of a mile, plus the salt water really stung his eyes.

After a few moments of calming himself he sat up and looked around. He was sitting on the floor of what appeared to be a platform of some sort, it had a small bench that was big enough to seat maybe two or three people and had a roof above it, it being inside a small box of sorts.

The platform appeared to be made of some strange gray rock (cement) while the roof and small box around the bench seemed to be made of metal, the same with the bench. It sort of reminded him of a bus stop actually, but what was one doing in the middle of an ocean?

Curiously he stood up and walked towards the bench before looking around for a second and sitting down on the left side of it. He noticing now that he was closer that the strange black line cutting across the sea were a series of metallic rails that was suspended on two large thick metal wires. Truthfully he had never seen anything like it before and pondered their purpose.

He then noticed what seemed like a schedule on the sides of the box he found himself on, however there was something off about them they all listed the same destination, and stated that whatever method of transportation was used came by every hour on the hour. He had no doubt this was some form of stop for some method of transportation, he had seen bus stops before, not like this but he knew how stops usually looked, but what was this a stop to, some kind of boat?

He saw that there was a small button under the schedule which after a moment's hesitation he pressed the button causing a sound similar to that of a bell chiming, he looked around expectantly only to see nothing happen.

Knowing that is was likely that he would be waiting a while he unsealed the Forbidden Scroll from earlier and pulled open as he started reading, there really was a lot inside the scroll. It was intricately organized with several sections that could be opened with several seal keys which he had yet to know how to even create at this point, the way he saw it the scroll was set up similarly to a book whose chapters where in different sections, it was quite interesting. There were four that simply had the name of the previous hokages, making him curious as to what each of them would seal inside such a scroll. However all he could truthfully access was the content that was not inside one of the seals, which was only a bare handful, which made sense in the context of the situation since it was originally intended for a test.

His eyes quickly fell on the first one as he read it, it was a clone jutsu, his worst technique. However this was different as he observed the mechanics of the technique he came to realize that this scroll was truly more than just a simple prop, this jutsu was something the likes of which he had never heard of before. Its mechanics were ingenious, it was a literal clone of the human structure which could be compounded upon through the user's knowledge of anatomy and biology. It was an incomplete technique whose final form could allow the person to create an exact duplicate of the original a veritable doppelganger with the shared conscience of the original.

The actual working of the shadow clone was simple however, it was a sequence of differing chakra frequencies that would allow him to create a solid astral projection of himself with his chakra. However if he was reading this right it could also allow him to be able to even copy his memories and receive something from his clones called memory feedback, which while he didn't know exactly what it did sounded really cool. Truthfully a lot of the explanation of the technique sounded really complicated he was simply lucky that the way to perform it was a lot easier than the actual mechanics behind the technique.

So he spent the next few hour practicing the chakra outputs necessary for the technique and slowly but surely began to cut down on the number of handsigns necessary as he was able to achieve the necessary chakra frequencies in shorter bursts. Until he got to the point that all he needed to do was a single handsign and all it took him was about an hour for how hard it sounded it was actually a lot easier than he expected to get down, like it was nearly second nature to him.

So achieving a satisfying level he decided to finally attempt to enact the jutsu as he did a cross-handsign. However the results weren't pretty and made him wince and almost feel pity for his creation.

It was deformed version of him that had half its head seemingly caved in and it's right arm and leg twisted hideously, it crying out in anguish as it reached towards him with its left arm, he simply could not dispel it fast enough.

Naruto was wide-eyed at what he had just seen, he was happy he did not know how to do that memory feedback thingy now, that was without a doubt one of the most horrible disturbing things he had ever seen. Currently his heart was beating nearly a mile a minute as he looked onto where the apparition had been moments earlier. There was just something unnatural about these shadow clones, it wasn't like illusion which were simply images, these were real, and seeing a mirror like version of himself in such a state simply made him feel as if he were performing a perversion of nature. That in turn made him think for the first times on the nature and morals of jutsu, that maybe utilizing chakra as a weapon inherently wrong.

Now he did not pretend to know that he knew the workings and nature of chakra, but the way he thought it was that chakra was energy that was found naturally in nature. Now it was one thing when a person killed another, but when they used nature itself to kill another, wasn't that forcing nature to kill in the name of man.

He continued to ponder this for the next few minutes, he not even re-attempting the jutsu once more as he lost himself in thought. It wasn't until he saw movement to his right that he turned to see what had caused it, only to go stiff and look forwards once more as he sat straighter than before.

Sitting next to him was the raccoon dog from earlier, sitting on its haunches as it gazed determinedly forwards towards the tracks. In his mind he had already established that whatever was next to him was no mere animal, there was just something _off_ about the creature, it just felt unnatural. He had heard stories of things like forests spirits and stuff like legends of strange creatures, sure he didn't buy into all of them, but there was something about this raccoon dog that just screamed strange to him.

For starters how did the tanuki even get here in the first place! It was a quarter mile off the shore and more so why would it come here, it didn't seem to be doing much besides simply sitting next to him as if it were waiting for something. Heck, he didn't know what he himself was waiting for at this point either so maybe it wasn't so weird after all.

'Wait how is it dry if we're in the middle of-' thought Naruto just as he heard a strange high pitched noise come from the distance to the far right breaking him out of his train of thought and causing both him and the tanuki to look towards the direction of the sound.

Far off in the distance he could see a a bright light rapidly approaching and could hear something similar to an air horn sounding of.

Suddenly the strange rails from earlier along with the metallic wiring from before seemed to stabilize before his very eyes as what seemed like millions of river rocks appeared below them holding them in place, fully revealing them to have been tracks.

With growing anticipation he waited for the strange vehicle to arrive along with the tanuki. They both gazing at the approaching metal contraption that was chugging out smoke.

It wasn't a boat

That was the first thing Naruto thought as the incredibly large vehicle blasted by them, it being separated into numerous boxes. Naruto staring wide-eyed at the sight, he had never heard of a vehicle like this, the most he had heard of were of buses from his jiji and even they weren't used in the hidden villages.

"Wow" Naruto said in awe as cart after cart passed by him, until they changed from simple boxes to boxes with windows. The vehicle slowing down marginally until it came to a full stop, at the end the metal vehicle having a strange compartment which also had a light coming from it, it being fully metallic and having what seemed almost like teeth in front of it that like the one in the front of it cut through the waves. (The vehicle is a train with an engine at the back and one at the front, the train being specially designed to travel over water. Remember that Naruto has never seen a train before at this point or even heard of one, the only known train in the Naruto universe was in Snow Country and even that was remarked as technologically advanced beyond belief. A train that can travel over water for the Elemental Nations is something incomprehensible. The thing that Naruto remarked as teeth like are water breakers, the train uses it to part the sea as it travels.)

Suddenly a door on the side of the train opened in front of him as if beckoning him forwards.

Naruto quickly made his way to the entrance of the train, curiosity having gotten the best of him at this point as he climbed the steps of the train, into a small compartment with a door on one side and a small window on the other.

He tried the door only to find it locked, causing him to sigh at that, figures they wouldn't want just anyone going in he guessed. He then looked towards the small window for a few seconds before stepping up and knocking on it, there had to be someone that opened the door he reasoned.

A few seconds of silence were his response, just as he was about to turn to try to find a way past the door the small window slid open revealing a pitch black beyond it. However asides from the window opening he received no response, however he could somehow feel there was someone there waiting in the dark for him to say something

"Umm hello, pardon for intruding, but you see I'm a bit lost. I just woke up here and don't know where I am, do you think you can show me the way back, I really need to get back to the village" said Naruto sheepishly really not having words to explain the situation he currently found himself in.

For a few seconds his proclamation was followed by silence before an unnatural echoing voice spoke up **"Do you have a ticket?"** asked the voice curiously, it causing a shiver to go down Naruto's spine at the unnatural tone of voice

"What ticket?" asked Naruto confusedly, not understanding what the voice meant, not having ridden whatever this contraption was before.

**"A ticket to where you _need _to go" **the voice responded confusing Naruto even further **"No ticket means that you need to stay _here_, and can't go _there_.**" the being elaborated as if that would help him figure it out

"But I-" tried to explain Naruto before he was cut-off by the entity

**"Come back when you have a ticket, or don't. Truly it's neither here nor there, as long as you're _somewhere_" **said the being mysteriously before it closed the window once more, leaving a baffled Naruto in its wake.

"What?" asked Naruto perplexed, he being at a total loss of words at that

Things just kept getting weirder and weirder...

He briefly entertained the idea of knocking on the window once more, but discarded it after thinking back on their conversation. He needed something the man called a ticket to get to...

Wait where was this thing going anyway, and what did the voice mean by where he needed to go?

With more questions than answers Naruto vacated the train and went back to the bench outside once more, as the small section that was currently available to him on the train had no seat.

He truly did not know what to do at this point, he was still trying to get a handle on everything that had happened so far. He didn't know where he was or how he got here in the first place, all he knows was that he needed something called a ticket. Now if he only knew what that was he could at least make some progress in this situation.

Just as he was about to go back and ask what a ticket was exactly he suddenly heard a yipping sound next to him and turned to find the tanuki from earlier with something under its front paw. The little creature gesturing towards it and then to him with its head.

"Hey what do you have there?" Naruto asked as he leaned forwards and slipped grasped what was under its paw out before looking at it curiously.

Now let it be said that Naruto wasn't exactly one of the most well educated in grammar and was not the best reader, but a single word stood out to him out of the little slip of paper.

_Ticket_

"Okay, I have no clue how you got this, or how you even knew I needed it, but I know at this point that you are a lot more than you seem to be Mr. Tanuki" Naruto said suspiciously as he looked back at the tanuki for a second only to find it looking at him happily as it sat on its haunches.

Naruto then smiled at the little rodent "Thank you" he said gratefully as he bowed his head slightly to the little creature, however when he lifted his head up once more he found a large grin on it's face, unnaturally large in fact.

This actually making him flinch back in surprise as he looked at the creature wide-eyed

'Why, you are most welcome' he suddenly heard in his head

"Did you just-" started a wide-eyed Naruto as he pointed at the tanuki with a shaking finger, before he once more heard the whistle of the train as it prepared to depart causing him to look towards the train to find it preparing to depart. He turning back towards the tanuki only to find it gone, he not seeing anywhere on the platform.

'You better get going' he heard once more in his head before that small presence in his mind suddenly left

'That was weird' thought Naruto as he walked back to the train looking a bit more nervous than before after all these strange occurrences

He then went up to the window again and knocked on it twice and waited a few more seconds before it slid open.

**"Ticket**" asked the voice just as Naruto pulled out the ticket

"I got it right here, but where-" Naruto started before a gust of wind seemed to suddenly rip the ticket out of his hand into the darkness inside the window

After a few more seconds the voice speaking up once again **"Hmm, this is acceptable"** said the voice as the sound of machinery sounded in the background and the door behind him suddenly slid open revealing a spacious train cabin with adequate seating arrangements.

**"You may take a seat, it will be a while until we arrive at your _final_** **destination" **said the voice before it quickly closed the window

"Wait what do you mean by that?" asked Naruto confusedly only to get no response in return

'Like I don't need anymore mystery's to solve' thought Naruto while rolling his eyes before he turned his heard as he watched the entrance door to the train slide shut

He pressing himself against the glass as he suddenly saw the raccoon dog from earlier once more sitting back on the bench as it watched the train prepare to depart. Naruto seeing the raccoon dog looking towards him waved goodbye to the little creature, hoping it could see him through the window of the door, the tanuki tilting its head curiously at the action. It then seemed to grin widely at the action, suddenly the train jolted forwards as it prepared to move causing Naruto to temporarily lose his balance, he not having expected the sudden movement. When he looked back the tanuki was gone, not a single trace of its presence having been left behind.

He gazed at the platform for a few more seconds before it was fully out of sight. He then looked once towards the small window the voice had spoken to him earlier came from, before looking back towards the compartments and entering the first cart as he looked around curiously.

In an instant however all that changed as the door behind him slammed shut and the entire cabin descended into darkness.

* * *

**The Baron**

**~x~**

An amused laugh suddenly sounded off in the dark unnerving him greatly at that as he tensed up. What was going on, was this some sort of a trap?

"Who's there!? What do you want with me?" Naruto asked nervously as he looked around with growing apprehension

**_"Oh, no need to be so defensive, relax" _**said a silky smooth voice soothingly, this almost making Naruto laugh at the absurdity of such a statement

"Kind of hard to relax when you are alone with someone you don't know in the dark" Naruto said sarcastically, he not being able to tell where the voice was coming due to it echoing in the confined space of the cabin. He having drawn his kunai the moment the lights went out.

**_"Hmm, you make a fair point good sir. It is a bit rude of me not to introduce myself, I am gentleman afterall. The name's Rover, however if you are so inclined you may regard me using my title of Baron. Now allow me to shed some light on the curious situation you find yourself in." _**said the voice before a light turned on suddenly, it being a single light-bulb over a small wooden table with a pull-switch swinging back and forth hypnotically.

However that wasn't what got his attention, it was his position that caught his attention. He was somehow now sitting down when moments before he had been standing up , but currently had his arms bound to the wooden chair he was sitting in.

'How?' he thought fearfully, how was it possible. He was standing up before and now he was simply sitting down, he would have noticed something like that happening. Plus how could the train car be so dark, it had about a dozen windows, it simply did not make sense for it to be this dark. Plus the train did not have any lights, last he saw it only had windows, it didn't have any tables or wooden chairs either for that matter. There was something unnatural about all this.

"What are you doing!? Why do you have me tied up like this!?" he said as he trashed about in his bindings

**_"Oh it's just a precaution, I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself now would I?" _**Rover asked innocently, before a kunai suddenly launched out of the darkness and embedded itself in the table in front of him. This being the same kunai that he had drawn earlier, causing Naruto to gulp at the action.

He looked towards where the kunai came from only to see two glowing red slitted eyes gazing back at him.

**_"Such dangerous toys for a child"_** said the enigmatic figure as its eyes narrowed marginally at that

Naruto gulped at that "W-what do you want?" asked Naruto in a subdued tone of voice as he knew he was in no position at the moment to make demands of this person

The figures eyes widened at that **_"Oh it's not what I want, it's what you want. That is the question."_**

"That's easy, I want to get back to the village, I want to see Jiji, I want to be a ninja, and one day I want to be hokage" said Naruto causing the being to narrow its eyes at him at that as he let out a low hiss causing Naruto to flinch at the sound, before the being released a sad sigh at that.

**_"I would tell you to not lie to me, however I can clearly see that you truly believe this lie yourself. You truly think that is what you want because that is what your mind tells you, but what does your heart tell you?" _**asked the voice curiously, making Naruto a bit angry at being called a liar like that

"I know what I want, and I mean what I said. I am no liar!" said Naruto angrily at that

**_"I can see what you truly want, not what you desire or why you desire it. Now I ask you why do you want the things you do?"_** asked the voice patiently, Naruto actually being taken aback by the question, no one had ever asked him that before.

"I guess because I want people to accept me, to make jiji proud, and to show everyone that I can do good" said Naruto for the first time in a long time feeling every bit the child he was as his dreams were laid out in front of him like that

**_"So with those things in mind I ask you once more..." _**said the voice as Naruto looked up with a much more sincere look in his eye than before **_"... what is it that you truly want?"_**

Naruto started tearing up at the question as he looked down at the table for a brief instance before looking back at the figure with watery eyes.

"I want to be happy" Naruto said softly with tears running down his cheeks at the proclamation, his voice so thick in emotion one could not deny how heartfelt the exclamation was.

"I want to be accepted, I want to be loved, I want people to see me for me, I want to be good" Naruto said as he broke down crying for the first time in a long time

**_"Happiness, love, recognition. Those are the three things you want, what you ultimately desire."_** said the voice softly, Naruto only nodding sadly at that, he knowing deep in himself that it was true.

**_"Now I am going to ask you to do something alright, I am not going to force you to do it and I promise I won't try anything funny."_** he said softly Naruto nodding along at that, too emotionally distraught at this point to really put up that much of a fight, it wasn't like he was in any position to really attempt to defy him anyways.

**_"Okay, I need you to close your eyes for a second and look inside yourself"_** the voice said getting a raised eyebrow from Naruto at that, what was this guy's game anyway, who was he now his psychiatrist?

Seeing the look from the boy he rolled his eyes at that **_"Just trust me okay, there's a reason for it, it's nothing bad I assure you" _**he offered placatingly

"Trust me he says, let's see him trust someone when the first thing they do is tie you to a chair" muttered Naruto a bit miffed at still not having any clue what was going on, this making the figure sweatdrop at that.

After a minute or two Naruto relaxed a bit and a while after the voice spoke up once more **_"Okay what do you_**_ **see?" **_he asked softly

Naruto responding almost as if he were in a trance "I see nothing" this answer earning a worried glance from Rover at that

**_"And can you tell me why you see nothing?" _**Rover prodded

"Because I am empty" said Naruto in a dead tone that caused a shiver to travel down Rover's spine at the response as he looked at the boy sadly.

**_"Why are you empty?" _**asked Rover curiously, not understanding this

"Because my entire existence is a lie, because I don't know. Because I don't know. I don't know!** I don't know!" **shouted Naruto as orange chakra burst from his form as he tried to escape from his bindings, he never once opening his eyes once throughout the whole session

**_"What don't you_**_ **know!?" **_Rover asked desperately simply being compelled to know the answer to such a question

**"Arghh!" **roared Naruto from his seated position, making Rover realize that Naruto had tried venturing too deep to find something that ultimately just wasn't there.

**_"Kai"_** Rover said softly as he stepped out of the shadows and pressed a single finger on Naruto's forehead, instantly causing his body to slump as the chakra receded back into himself, or more specifically the seal. Naruto taking in large labored breaths as he collected himself.

"Wha-What happened?" asked a confused Naruto, he still not opening his eyes

**_"You went too deep when I asked you to look inside yourself, I had to bring you back"_** said Rover as he sat on a chair across from Naruto's own

"Bring me back?" Naruto asked in confusion

**_"I utilized something called hypnosis to help you relax, I guess you could liken it to your genjutsu" _**he explained making Naruto a bit curious at that if a little bit uncomfortable at having a genjutsu cast on him

**_"Anyways I believe it's time we spoke face to face, however I must ask you not to panic alright" _**Rover said a bit worriedly, not knowing how the boy would react

"Oh don't worry about that, you don't panic more than when you find yourself lost in the middle of nowhere and then end up tied onto a chair in the dark while being asked strange questions. Trust me nothing you show me at this point would cause me to freak out anymore than I already am" said Naruto dismissively, after all the weird stuff that had been thrown at him today he wouldn't be surprised at finding out that the hokage was actually a woman...

'Eww, bad mental image' thought Naruto as he gagged at the thought of his grandfather figure as a woman

**_'I wouldn't say that' _**thought Rover as his tail swayed behind him, he being as much apprehensive as he was looking forward in amusement to his reaction.

**_"Okay you can open your eyes now"_** said Rover softly as he snapped his fingers causing Naruto's eyes to flutter open at that, it taking a few seconds for his eyesight to focus.

"Ahh!" Naruto screamed as he pressed back against his chair, he accidentally causing it to tip over as he crashed into the floor wide-eyed at what he had just seen

**_"Whoa there young man, you need to be careful, you took quite a tumble there" _**Rover said worriedly as he straightened the chair and situated Naruto back onto a sitting position, he standing off to the side afterwards.

"You-you're a-a" Naruto said shakily as he pointed at Rover, he not realizing in his shock that he was now free of his restraints.

**_"A cat?"_** Rover finished helpfully with an amused smile earning a shaky nod from Naruto in response

**_"Why yes, yes I am. Allow me to re-introduce myself, the name's Rover, otherwise known as the Baron, and as you may have noted I am a cat" _**he said as he took of his hat and bowed at the waist, before quickly flicking the top hat back onto his head

**_"May I say it is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, we have been expecting you" _**said Rover with a wide grin on his face as the black slitted pupils thinned slightly, his gaze never tearing itself from the frightened child before him.

**_"Naruto"_**

* * *

**_Author's Note  
_**

For a brief description of Rover's appearance he looks like anthropomorphic cat. He is well dressed and has a top hat, he is the stature of a human adult, being 5'11 in height. His fur color is the same as cannon, appearance wise he could be likened to the baron from The Cat Returns minus the fur color. (I do not own The Cat Returns)

A more detailed description of Rover will be given next chapter.


End file.
